Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection
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Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection This finding aid was created by Karla Irwin on October 01, 2018. Persistent URL for this finding aid: http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1w31k © 2018 The Regents of the University of Nevada. All rights reserved. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives. Box 457010 4505 S. Maryland Parkway Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-7010 [email protected] Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection Table of Contents Summary Information ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Historical Note ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Scope and Contents ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Arrangement .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................. 4 Related Materials ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Names and Subjects ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Collection Inventory ........................................................................................................................................ 5 - Page 2 - Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection Summary Information Repository: University of Nevada, Las Vegas. University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives. Creator: University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Public Lands Institute Contributor: Bell, Dorothy Title: Walking Box Ranch Collection ID: MS-00657 Date [inclusive]: 1917-2011 Physical Description: 6.1 Linear Feet Physical Description: 2.33 Cubic Feet (1 box, 1 framed item, 1 flat file) Language of the English Material: Abstract: The Walking Box Ranch Collection (1917-2011) includes material collected by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Public Lands Institute on the Searchlight, Nevada ranch. Materials include a map from the Rock and Springs Land and Cattle Company, a pair of chaps owned by Rex Bell, Jr., and color slides of the ranch. Also included are photographic prints of Rex Bell and Rex Bell, Jr., and newsclippings related to the film and political career of Rex Bell. Preferred Citation Walking Box Ranch Collection, 1917-2011. MS-00657. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. ^ Return to Table of Contents Historical Note The Walking Box Ranch is a 160-acre ranch in Searchlight, Nevada which was once owned by silent film stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow from the 1930s through the 1940s. Rex Bell (née George Francis Beldam) purchased the ranch in 1931 from the Rock Springs Land and Cattle Company. Walking Box Ranch got its name from the ranch brand: a movie camera on a tripod. Bow and Bell had a 5,000 square foot Spanish Revivial home built on the property that also served as a working cattle ranch. Rex Bell, Jr. (née Rex Larbow Beldam) was born to Bell and Bow in 1934, and he grew up with his brother George (born in 1938) on the ranch until his parents separated in the mid-1940s. Bell, Sr. sold the ranch to Karl "Cap" Weikal in 1951. Rex Bell, Sr. went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1955 until his death in 1962. - Page 3- Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection Rex Bell, Jr. served as the Clark County Deputy District Attorney and also held one term as Lieutenant Governor. He died in 2011. Weikal continued to use Walking Box as a ranch until he sold the property in 1989 to Viceroy Gold Corporation, which used the ranch as an executive retreat. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) purchased the ranch in 2005. The ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 for its association with cattle ranching and its architectural significance. Sources: "Screen test," last modified April 2013, http://www.desertcompanion.com/article.cfm?ArticleID=552 "Historical overview and context," last modified June 2008, https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/ nepa/5201/13961/14062/06142010_WBR_Prelim_Draft_EA_Appendix_A_Hist_Overview.pdf "Walking Box Ranch," last modified 2013, https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/pli_walking_box_ranch/ ^ Return to Table of Contents Scope and Contents The Walking Box Ranch Collection (1917-2011) includes material collected by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Public Lands Institute on the Searchlight, Nevada ranch. Materials include a map from the Rock and Springs Land and Cattle Company, a pair of chaps owned by Rex Bell, Jr., and color slides of the ranch. Also included are photographic prints of Rex Bell and Rex Bell, Jr., and newsclippings related to the film and political career of Rex Bell. A small number of newsclippings pertain to the career of Rex Bell, Jr. ^ Return to Table of Contents Arrangement Materials remain in original order. ^ Return to Table of Contents Administrative Information Access Collection is open for research. - Page 4- Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection Publications Note Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Acquisition Note Material was donated by Dorothy Bell to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Lands Institute. The collection was transferred to UNLV Special Collections in 2014 as two seperate accessions. Accession numbers: 2014-055 and 2014-062. Processing Note The collection was minimally processed by Karla Irwin in 2014 at the time of accessioning. To prepare the inventory, the described materials were reviewed to create a contents list, estimate dates, and identify material types. In 2018 the map was flattened and encapsulated in mylar for preservation purposes. ^ Return to Table of Contents Related Materials Related Materials PH-00346, Walking Box Ranch Photograph Collection OH-00181, Rex Bell, Jr. oral history interview, Ralph Roske Interviews OH-00108, Rex Bell, Jr. oral history interview, The Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project ^ Return to Table of Contents Names and Subjects • Walking Box Ranch (Searchlight, Nev.) • Bell, Rex, 1903-1962 • Bell, Rex, Jr., 1934-2011 Collection Inventory Title/Description Containers - Page 5- Guide to the Walking Box Ranch Collection Range and Waters of the Rock Springs Land and Cattle Company, Triangulation flat file Survey 1916: map, 1917 January 26 02 Walking Box Ranch slides, 2004 and undated oversized box 01 Rex Bell, Jr. photographic prints, undated oversized box 01 Rex Bell, Jr. newsclippings and memorial card, 1986, 2011 oversized box 01 Rex Bell, Sr. photographic prints, undated oversized Physical Description: 2 Files box 01 Rex Bell, Sr. newsclippings regarding political and film career, 1929-1981 oversized box 01 Childhood chaps owned by Rex Bell, Jr. (framed), approximately 1935-1945 frame 03 - Page 6-.